Kurzweil

I think Kurzweil is an excellent text-to-speech program to use when an actual recording of a text is not available.  In other words, I think that an actual human recording of a reading—if available—should always be selected before choosing to have Kurzweil convert text to speech.   This is because the intonation, fluency, and expression of a computerized voice are of much lower quality than a human recording.  Perhaps the technology of the future will improve the ability of computers to read aloud, but as of now the technology has its faults.

The ability of Kurweil to help students decode specific words is less problematic.  I can see how the Picture, Definition, Synonym, Pronounce, and Syllables buttons can all prove very helpful to students with disabilities.  Also, the ability to make highlights, make annotations, and extract both to an outline can also help students organize their understanding of a text.